Top-notch pub fare is defying the U.K's poor culinary image

A regular at the Bull and Bladder Pub enjoys the atmosphere of the traditional Black Country establishment in Dudley, England. The Vine Public House which is known locally as the Bull and Bladder is one of Britain's most traditional public houses and attracts daily regulars as well as drinkers from across the country. The pub owned by Bathams Brewery is famed for it's traditional friendly atmosphere, prize winning ales, inexpensive food and decor.

Photograph by: hristopher Furlong
, Getty Images

Former French president Jacques Chirac once commented on British food with supreme Gallic haughtiness: "One cannot trust people whose cuisine is so bad." He may perhaps have been thinking of the stereotype of pub grub - greasy fish and chips, leathery scotch eggs and vegetables boiled into mushy submission.

When he said it in 2005, it was likely already outdated, and is even more so now.

In more than two years of living in London, I discovered that British food in general is top-notch and the pub fare is often as fine as that found in so-called fine restaurants.

The French-based bible of gastronomy, the Michelin Guide, has awarded stars to no fewer than 13 pubs. One, The Hand and Flowers, received two stars.

"We're catching up on a great British tradition of food," chef and co-owner Tom Kerridge said.

On a rainy day , we took the hour's journey by train west from London to the village of Marlow to sample his work. With low ceilings and thick walls, the Hand and Flowers has all the appearance of the traditional watering hole.

Until you read the menu.

A scotch egg was on the list of appetizers. But it was a "smoked mackerel, parsley and garlic scotch egg with white onion soubise and charred English onion." The texture was more velvet than leather, the taste a subtle pleasure.

My main was a slow-cooked duck breast with peas, duck fat chips and gravy. Yes, chips made out of duck fat. They will never make it onto any Weight Watchers plan, but they did delightfully fill my stomach.

Kerridge said the Brits' bad food reputation emanated from the postwar years, grim times of shortages and rationing when everyone learned to get by on simple foods out of a can. The next stage was elitist, when all the best restaurants were French or Italian.

"We didn't look at what we had at home, which was actually fantastic British produce," said Kerridge. In the last two decades, the British have learned to appreciate the foods sourced on their own island and pubs have tapped into the desire to eat well in a casual setting.

The Harwood Arms is the only Michelin-starred pub in London. I visited with two friends who also happen to be food professionals. Visit Britain picked up our tab.

Roxane Shymkiw, a chef from Calgary, raved that the lunch was "familiar and inspired at the same time." She went for the short rib of beef with smoked bone marrow.

Carolyn Cope is a food blogger from New Jersey, a vegetarian who likes her meals unprocessed and local. "Our meal at the Harwood Arms was the real deal - sourced, prepared and served to let vibrant ingredients shine with just the right amount of help from a talented chef," she said after savouring a roasted root vegetable salad with a perfectly paired wine.

While many traditional pubs are being forced out of business, gastro pubs are in ascendance.

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A regular at the Bull and Bladder Pub enjoys the atmosphere of the traditional Black Country establishment in Dudley, England. The Vine Public House which is known locally as the Bull and Bladder is one of Britain's most traditional public houses and attracts daily regulars as well as drinkers from across the country. The pub owned by Bathams Brewery is famed for it's traditional friendly atmosphere, prize winning ales, inexpensive food and decor.

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